It is sometimes desirable to display an opened book to display artistic or photographic images or text within the book. For example, a book may contain reproductions of artwork which the owner may wish to display by mounting the book to a frame and hanging the frame on a wall, in the same manner paintings or posters may be framed and hung.
In U.S. Pat. No. 1,438,181 issued to Klopf, there is disclosed a book container which is designed to display an open book in a horizontal position. It is specifically designed to be a cookbook holder and includes a cover to prevent spattering of foodstuffs on the book. The book is held open to the proper page by wire clips visible from the front. This book container is also intended to store cakes and breads after the cooking process. Therefore the container is of a size which is not suitable for displaying the book.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,649,799 issued to Spertus, there is disclosed a picture-frame album intended to allow display of photographs mounted in album. This frame however could not display open books unless the spine of the book was destroyed. It is only suitable for the display of single flat pages such as a photograph or a photo album which could be folded flat.
Although the history of printed and bond books dates back to the 15.sup.th century, there has been no known method of conveniently and attractively displaying an open book, particularly with a protective cover and in a vertical orientation.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a convenient method and apparatus of displaying an open book in a vertical orientation which overcomes the shortcomings of the prior art.